The purpose of this Forum is to highlight and discuss issues pertaining to specific Jamats. Please use this space responsibly and report facts. We reserve the right to edit/delete posts that we find are irrelevant and based on gossip and hearsay.

dawedaar wrote:Ozdundee - The sarcasm/smily is a dead giveaway that it is just a piece of imagination!

Ozdundee wrote:Bro Dawedaar

interested to know if the below message is authentic?

[/quote]

Dawedar bro .... The fight against FGM is difficult like any reform and unfortunately still majority of Bohra support the continuation of the practise because they believe it is shariat, fgm determines if they are true Bohra. Anyone standing against it is regarded as an enemy of Sayedna the word dushmano and hence can be excommunicated or physically abused or targeted. There is evidence of how far they went to harass witnesses.

The grassroot revolt by women is a very positive and sustainable way to change ...shoots of Bohra Spring are encouraging

This month, a petition to abolish female genital mutilation (FGM) in India has been doing the rounds on Change.Org. Started by Masooma Ranalvi, a writer and publisher who works on women’s issues, the petition addresses Maneka Gandhi and two other ministers, asking them to criminalise FGM in India. Since then, Ranalvi’s petition has been supported by 16 other women from the Dawoodi Bohra community who have also undergone FGM, and signed by thousands of others. Ranalvi has written about her own experience in The Quint and on NDTV.

As Ranalvi’s petition tells us, FGM has been made illegal in more than 20 African countries, most recently Nigeria in May this year and Gambia last month (though there have been concerns that the procedure will still be performed surreptitiously).

Immigrant communities in First World countries have been prosecuted, too. In Australia, for instance, three people from the Dawoodi Bohra community were facing charges of performing female circumcision in September. And last month, two young girls had their passports seized in the UK on suspicion of being sent abroad to undergo FGM.

So if we wanted to read more about FGM, where would we go? Here are a few starting points:

6 Jan 2016 — 2016 brings with it hope. A hope I share with hundreds of my Bohra sisters.

Last year towards the end of 2015 we embarked on a campaign. It was to speak out against a repressive ritual practiced in my community known as FGM or Khatna.

When I spoke out and shared my traumatizing experience of being circumcised when I was a 7 year old child, I received spontaneous support from other women in my community who had undergone similar experiences. Our mutual need and desire to share experiences, thoughts, views, ideas on FGM led to the formation of a forum called Speak out on FGM.

The petition on Change.org to End FGM was part of our effort to mobilize support and to draw attention of the world to our cause and to appeal to the Indian Government to ban this practice.

The last 2 weeks I have spent in my birthplace, Mumbai meeting and interacting with several Bohra women.

Like the story of young Farida Kapasi, who teaches in a college in Mumbai, just talking about her FGC experience she broke into a cold sweat and started shivering. The horrific experience she had when she underwent circumcision has stayed with her decades later.

The story I hear of Rehana Tinwala was heart rending. Rehana’s circumcision procedure went horribly wrong and the result has been traumatic life -long. Rehana has not been able to share intimacy with her husband and this has affected her married life.

I met 10 year old Zainub Unwla, who had been circumcised 2 years ago.
It was painful to see this innocent child and I just felt angry that why have we not been able to stop this practice to date.

I also came across several brave women who had opposed the traditional pressures and have taken a firm stand against circumcising their young daughters. Nishreen Saif has two daughters aged 4 and 6 and she with the support of her husband has taken a stand against circumcising her girls.

Sakina Habib a cousin of mine, confessed that her granddaughters had not been circumcised.

Educated and well informed women and men are taking a stand against FGM. But the mass of bohras still blindly follow the practice. (All the names mentioned of the Bohras above have been changed to protect their identities)

A law banning FGM will act as a solid deterrent and strengthen our efforts to mobilize the community in stopping the practice of FGM.

I renew my appeal to our readers to sign the petition, and if you have please circulate it around to your friends.

When are they going to to act on this petition. I remeber their initial target was 10,000 or 15,000 signatures which they increased to 25,000. Now they have more than 29,000 signatories. When will they act?

ghulam muhammed wrote:Speak out on FGM

Wishing you a happy and hopeful 2016

6 Jan 2016 — 2016 brings with it hope. A hope I share with hundreds of my Bohra sisters.

Last year towards the end of 2015 we embarked on a campaign. It was to speak out against a repressive ritual practiced in my community known as FGM or Khatna.

When I spoke out and shared my traumatizing experience of being circumcised when I was a 7 year old child, I received spontaneous support from other women in my community who had undergone similar experiences. Our mutual need and desire to share experiences, thoughts, views, ideas on FGM led to the formation of a forum called Speak out on FGM.

The petition on Change.org to End FGM was part of our effort to mobilize support and to draw attention of the world to our cause and to appeal to the Indian Government to ban this practice.

The last 2 weeks I have spent in my birthplace, Mumbai meeting and interacting with several Bohra women.

Like the story of young Farida Kapasi, who teaches in a college in Mumbai, just talking about her FGC experience she broke into a cold sweat and started shivering. The horrific experience she had when she underwent circumcision has stayed with her decades later.

The story I hear of Rehana Tinwala was heart rending. Rehana’s circumcision procedure went horribly wrong and the result has been traumatic life -long. Rehana has not been able to share intimacy with her husband and this has affected her married life.

I met 10 year old Zainub Unwla, who had been circumcised 2 years ago.
It was painful to see this innocent child and I just felt angry that why have we not been able to stop this practice to date.

I also came across several brave women who had opposed the traditional pressures and have taken a firm stand against circumcising their young daughters. Nishreen Saif has two daughters aged 4 and 6 and she with the support of her husband has taken a stand against circumcising her girls.

Sakina Habib a cousin of mine, confessed that her granddaughters had not been circumcised.

Educated and well informed women and men are taking a stand against FGM. But the mass of bohras still blindly follow the practice. (All the names mentioned of the Bohras above have been changed to protect their identities)

A law banning FGM will act as a solid deterrent and strengthen our efforts to mobilize the community in stopping the practice of FGM.

I renew my appeal to our readers to sign the petition, and if you have please circulate it around to your friends.

We found courage to Speak Out on Female Genital Mutilation in India. So can you

Last year I wrote my experience of female genital mutilation as a child (commonly referred to as khatna within the Bohra community). The experience of just penning down in detail the suppressed memory of a dark and sordid ritual was cathartic.

At the time of writing, however, I was filled with despondency. The trauma I had felt forty years ago still existed. Many young Bohra women I had spoken to told me they had their daughters circumcised/cut because the elders in the community had pressured them to do so. Many had done it unquestioningly. The Australia case, where two young girls were circumcised, proved that even in countries where it is banned, the practice is still perpetuated but under clandestine, secretive circumstances.

In the midst of this utter gloom something beautiful happened. Speak out on FGM was born. This forum was a spontaneous coming together of a group of Dawoodi Bohra women from all walks of life, of all ages, 18 to 80. We connected because we all shared in some ways the experience of FGM. We were housewives, psychologists, counsellors, filmmakers, journalists, entrepreneurs, stock brokers, scientists, writers and even students. We were mothers, grandmothers, daughters and sisters. The group started off by attracting members from far and wide facilitated by technology. From Mumbai to Nagpur, Pune, Udaipur to Toronto, Australia, US and UK, women began joining in our platform.

At the Speak Out on FGM forum, we began our conversations, discussions and debates. The need and urge to share our stories, our experiences, our views and opinions, our anger at this practice, our helplessness and our hopes, was just so strong. It has been a heart warming process to make these soulful connections and exchange these stories.

In December 2015 Speak out on FGM group started of a petition on change.org. The petition appealed to a larger public to sign on our demand for an end to FGM in India and appeal to the government to make a law that will ban this practice here. For the first time in the history of this community, 17 women put their names and signatures on the petition. Most of the women on the petition have themselves been subjected to this practice, some have been lucky enough to escape the knife. We have been receiving a lot of support from within the community and outside. To date we have got almost 30,000 signatures.

On daily basis, we hear positive anecdotes and updates from group members that boosts our spirits. For instance, Zehra Patwa posted a message the other day saying, "I just talked someone out of doing khatna on their daughter and made someone who was absolutely going to do it on their daughter to at least reconsider". A few days back Insia Dariwala was ecstatic as she had convinced a Bohra woman to not do khatna for her daughter. We all are elated when anyone of us manages to convince another woman to not subject her daughter to this. Nishreen from our group has resolved not to subject her two young daughters, aged 4 and 6, to khatna. While Tasleem rues the day she took her daughter for this years ago, she regrets it and holds herself responsible for her daughters' khatna. The group then acts as a platform for her to voice and reflect upon this regret. Notwithstanding the past, she is now a solid supporter of Speak Out on FGM and passionately campaigns against FGM.

These small stories and small victories soar our spirits and goad us to march along.

We all know we have an uphill task ahead of us. The control over the minds and bodies of women seems so complete in the community. How else can you explain the example of this Bohra woman with a two-year-old daughter, who believes in Maula without questions? She has a PhD, and she prays that Maula will ban the practice by the time her daughter turns 7. If not, she will have to subject her daughter to FGMas her faith in Maula is absolute. Or this instance of a PhD pharmacist and her mother, who is an anaesthesiologist, both accompanying her little girl for the procedure.

So is the story of young Farida, which is heart rending. A practising counsellor today, she gets into a cold sweat at the mention of FGM. Her memory is so vivid yet so painful. She gasps in pain when she remembers the redness of the bathroom each time she went after the procedure was done on her. And even now, decades later, her body reacts physically to just the recollection of that day.

Issues of individual, family, law and religion are talked about openly and freely on our forum. On a daily basis we debate many questions. What is the ‘official' or real reason our community performs and believes in FGM? Was anyone ever offered an explanation? What are kind of memories we have of that day? Did it affect us physically, emotionally, psychologically, sexually? At a more profound level, we ponder over what is the best way we can combat this pernicious practice?

FGM is a practice steeped in patriarchy. The basic idea behind it being that sexuality of a girl/woman has to be controlled. It perpetuates the idea that women's bodies have to be altered, their sexuality has to be curbed, she should be denied the right to love, the right to enjoy sex or even have an orgasm. Without a care for the physical and psychological damage it does to the girl/woman.

Uncircumcised girls are seen as immoral and circumcision is seen as necessary to prevent infidelity of women.

As women we have been taught that anything related to the female reproductive system or sexual desire is taboo, and deemed a women's issue only. The biggest factor is the shame a daughter would bring on the family if she did not toe the line. There is a huge amount of shame associated with even talking about khatna. This shame prevents many women from ever talking about this practice or even openly aligning themselves with our platform.

Then there is fear – the fear of repercussions from the clergy, from the family, from society. This silences most of the women.
We seek to inform women about the harmful consequences of this practice, we want them to be able to freely talk about the practice without any sense of shame or fear. The road ahead of us is long and arduous. But we are not alone anymore.
A quote from Terry Pratchett's 'Small Gods', shared by my fellow traveller, sums it beautifully: "Fear is strange soil. Mainly it grows obedience like corn, which grows in rows and makes weeding easy. But sometimes it grows the potatoes of defiance, which flourish underground."

And today, we're not so underground anymore.

(Some of the names above have been changed to protect the identities of the women. Views are personal, not that of CNN-IBN/IBNLIVE)

(This article has been written by Masooma Ranalvi, a survivor of Female Genital Mutilation, on how a group of women from Bohra community have found courage to speak on FGM. They call themselves as the group ‘Speak Out on FGM' and the attached picture has a few members of the same group. It is an awe-inspiring story because almost all of them are coming out publicly to speak about their personal experiences, for the first time in their lives)

ghulam muhammed wrote:We found courage to Speak Out on Female Genital Mutilation in India. So can you

Last year I wrote my experience of female genital mutilation as a child (commonly referred to as khatna within the Bohra community). The experience of just penning down in detail the suppressed memory of a dark and sordid ritual was cathartic.

At the time of writing, however, I was filled with despondency. The trauma I had felt forty years ago still existed. Many young Bohra women I had spoken to told me they had their daughters circumcised/cut because the elders in the community had pressured them to do so. Many had done it unquestioningly. The Australia case, where two young girls were circumcised, proved that even in countries where it is banned, the practice is still perpetuated but under clandestine, secretive circumstances.

In the midst of this utter gloom something beautiful happened. Speak out on FGM was born. This forum was a spontaneous coming together of a group of Dawoodi Bohra women from all walks of life, of all ages, 18 to 80. We connected because we all shared in some ways the experience of FGM. We were housewives, psychologists, counsellors, filmmakers, journalists, entrepreneurs, stock brokers, scientists, writers and even students. We were mothers, grandmothers, daughters and sisters. The group started off by attracting members from far and wide facilitated by technology. From Mumbai to Nagpur, Pune, Udaipur to Toronto, Australia, US and UK, women began joining in our platform.

At the Speak Out on FGM forum, we began our conversations, discussions and debates. The need and urge to share our stories, our experiences, our views and opinions, our anger at this practice, our helplessness and our hopes, was just so strong. It has been a heart warming process to make these soulful connections and exchange these stories.

In December 2015 Speak out on FGM group started of a petition on change.org. The petition appealed to a larger public to sign on our demand for an end to FGM in India and appeal to the government to make a law that will ban this practice here. For the first time in the history of this community, 17 women put their names and signatures on the petition. Most of the women on the petition have themselves been subjected to this practice, some have been lucky enough to escape the knife. We have been receiving a lot of support from within the community and outside. To date we have got almost 30,000 signatures.

On daily basis, we hear positive anecdotes and updates from group members that boosts our spirits. For instance, Zehra Patwa posted a message the other day saying, "I just talked someone out of doing khatna on their daughter and made someone who was absolutely going to do it on their daughter to at least reconsider". A few days back Insia Dariwala was ecstatic as she had convinced a Bohra woman to not do khatna for her daughter. We all are elated when anyone of us manages to convince another woman to not subject her daughter to this. Nishreen from our group has resolved not to subject her two young daughters, aged 4 and 6, to khatna. While Tasleem rues the day she took her daughter for this years ago, she regrets it and holds herself responsible for her daughters' khatna. The group then acts as a platform for her to voice and reflect upon this regret. Notwithstanding the past, she is now a solid supporter of Speak Out on FGM and passionately campaigns against FGM.

These small stories and small victories soar our spirits and goad us to march along.

We all know we have an uphill task ahead of us. The control over the minds and bodies of women seems so complete in the community. How else can you explain the example of this Bohra woman with a two-year-old daughter, who believes in Maula without questions? She has a PhD, and she prays that Maula will ban the practice by the time her daughter turns 7. If not, she will have to subject her daughter to FGMas her faith in Maula is absolute. Or this instance of a PhD pharmacist and her mother, who is an anaesthesiologist, both accompanying her little girl for the procedure.

So is the story of young Farida, which is heart rending. A practising counsellor today, she gets into a cold sweat at the mention of FGM. Her memory is so vivid yet so painful. She gasps in pain when she remembers the redness of the bathroom each time she went after the procedure was done on her. And even now, decades later, her body reacts physically to just the recollection of that day.

Issues of individual, family, law and religion are talked about openly and freely on our forum. On a daily basis we debate many questions. What is the ‘official' or real reason our community performs and believes in FGM? Was anyone ever offered an explanation? What are kind of memories we have of that day? Did it affect us physically, emotionally, psychologically, sexually? At a more profound level, we ponder over what is the best way we can combat this pernicious practice?

FGM is a practice steeped in patriarchy. The basic idea behind it being that sexuality of a girl/woman has to be controlled. It perpetuates the idea that women's bodies have to be altered, their sexuality has to be curbed, she should be denied the right to love, the right to enjoy sex or even have an orgasm. Without a care for the physical and psychological damage it does to the girl/woman.

Uncircumcised girls are seen as immoral and circumcision is seen as necessary to prevent infidelity of women.

As women we have been taught that anything related to the female reproductive system or sexual desire is taboo, and deemed a women's issue only. The biggest factor is the shame a daughter would bring on the family if she did not toe the line. There is a huge amount of shame associated with even talking about khatna. This shame prevents many women from ever talking about this practice or even openly aligning themselves with our platform.

Then there is fear – the fear of repercussions from the clergy, from the family, from society. This silences most of the women.
We seek to inform women about the harmful consequences of this practice, we want them to be able to freely talk about the practice without any sense of shame or fear. The road ahead of us is long and arduous. But we are not alone anymore.
A quote from Terry Pratchett's 'Small Gods', shared by my fellow traveller, sums it beautifully: "Fear is strange soil. Mainly it grows obedience like corn, which grows in rows and makes weeding easy. But sometimes it grows the potatoes of defiance, which flourish underground."

And today, we're not so underground anymore.

(Some of the names above have been changed to protect the identities of the women. Views are personal, not that of CNN-IBN/IBNLIVE)

(This article has been written by Masooma Ranalvi, a survivor of Female Genital Mutilation, on how a group of women from Bohra community have found courage to speak on FGM. They call themselves as the group ‘Speak Out on FGM' and the attached picture has a few members of the same group. It is an awe-inspiring story because almost all of them are coming out publicly to speak about their personal experiences, for the first time in their lives)

"Bohras think FGM is one of those terrible things that 'African tribals' do. They only think they're snipping off a tiny bit of skin. But given the unscientific manner in which it's often performed, there's no way of knowing how much skin is cut off. And why should they be cutting off anything at all?" asks Johari (29), journalist and co-founder of Sahiyo, an organization battling khatna.

"Bohras think FGM is one of those terrible things that 'African tribals' do. They only think they're snipping off a tiny bit of skin. But given the unscientific manner in which it's often performed, there's no way of knowing how much skin is cut off. And why should they be cutting off anything at all?" asks Johari (29), journalist and co-founder of Sahiyo, an organization battling khatna.

The doctor, known as A1, had charges against him dropped before the case went to trial, but has been allowed to continuing practising at a northwest Sydney clinic.

A SYDNEY doctor accused of trying to protect his wife by conspiring to conceal from police the genital mutilation of his two daughters is still allowed to practise but has been banned from seeing female ­patients without a chaperone.

The doctor, who can’t be named to protect his daughters, was recorded in phone conversations played at his wife’s trial allegedly hatching a plot to tell authorities that the girls must have been cut during a family trip to Africa.

He was also recorded allegedly telling others to tell police the girls had just undergone a medical “check-up”.

But a Supreme Court jury found the girls were cut in NSW when aged six and seven at a secretive ritual practised by their parents’ Shia Muslim sect, Dawoodi Bohra

Their mother, now 39, and a retired midwife, Kubra Magennis, now 72, have become the first people to be convicted of female genital mutilation in Australia and are awaiting sentencing for the crime, which carries a maximum penalty of seven years in jail.

The Dawoodi Bohra religious leader in Sydney, Sheik Shabbir Mohammedbhai Vaziri, was found guilty of being an accessory after the fact and is also awaiting sentence.

The doctor, known as A1, had charges against him dropped before the case went to trial, but has been allowed to continuing practising at a northwest Sydney clinic.

Australian Medical Association president Brian Owler said he would not comment on individual medical disciplinary cases but said he would be concerned if doctors who support genital mutilation were allowed to practise in Australia.

“It is abhorrent, it is illegal and it is wrong,” Dr Owler said.

The Medical Council of NSW has banned A1 from seeing any female patients unless they are accompanied by a female doctor or nurse they have approved of in advance.

He also must submit to them a log of all female patients he sees every month.

Crown prosecutor described A1, who gave evidence at his wife’s trial, as a “witness without credit”.

NOT GOOD FOR OUR COMMUNITY ... What a badnaami for such as royal Jannat na haqdarr Qaum. Our women will undergo questioning in schools and colleges by friends and family if they are CUT. Especially in Indian Hindu BJP rules society where Cow is safe but women aren't and we DAWOODI bohras are part and cause of it. More edible fodder for hindu BJP.

Ranalvi is part of the Dawoodi Bohra community. According to her, the Bohras are proud of their independence, are a prosperous lot and are an extremely tight-knit group. They are also the only branch of Islam who administer this procedure on women.

“There’s finally a conversation on the subject. Many young women are finally coming forward with their stories and several others now know the truth. My writings on the issue started in December and instead of a backlash, I have received hundreds of positive responses. There was a petition on Change.org earlier but that was simply ignored by religious heads — they didn’t even reply. I’m hoping the government takes note and bans this practice.”

“In the UK, the law now says if you’re a British citizen, you can’t get this procedure done anywhere in the world. They actually amended legislation to beat tactics. Australia too has convicted culprits. There’s still however, a steady stream of people arriving in India to cut their children because no such strict laws exist here. It happens mainly during the summer — the ‘khatna season’,” adds Ranalvi.

The Bohras who’re against the practice are braced for a battle that’s looming. The religious heads are extremely strict and community members DC spoke to believe Ranalvi and her campaign will be “dealt with”.

For now though, her efforts, supported by a hundred others is gaining steam. The campaign even has a logo — it has an image of a blade leaving a thin cut of blood with the words ‘End FGM’ below. It’s crude but it’s made by Ranalvi’s daughter, Fiza.

Which means a chain has been cut and in our world of today, that’s hope.

A SYDNEY doctor accused of trying to protect his wife by conspiring to conceal from police the genital mutilation of his two daughters is still allowed to practise but has been banned from seeing female ­patients without a chaperone.

What a disgrace chaperon....really. So he cannot visit kindergartens or childcare facility without supervision. No women will share a seat with him in the local transport. He life is finish, trust is lost everything is lost. In practical life he will be called a butcher father who CUT his girls. I am sure whenever he visits Sydney or any other markaz masjid people will point fingers and say this is the father of 2 daughters which cause uproar in Sydney and disturb the apple cart of dawat.

Allowed to practice....but..... without dignity, self-respect and trust. He might as well driver Uber taxi.

Letters from Sydney and London, I know Bohra women activists are excited but it is show. Yes it may discourage some from fgm but not stop it totally.

The 2 letters are weak, no mention of SMS maybe to protect him from being sued by women rights and future class action as it would implicate sayedna, did people notice that no women signed it , no mention whether sayedna had given permission to change shariat that Abdes take misaq with , no acknowledge of accepting it is cruel, no discussion how they will remind people who don't know it is illegal , like will there be a noticeboard. What about letters in Canada, USA or what about they are stopping fgm because it is illegal and not because it is wrong so they still don't see it is child abuse.In India will they stop it or wait until it is illegal.

I am pleased the authorities have shown more reformist capabilities to dig their teeth into it and force the change morecthan some of us or our supreme leaders.

Some people took the lead and brought it this far and let the people just joining the caravan of change look after it to the end of the journey.

Ozdundee wrote:Letters from Sydney and London, I know Bohra women activists are excited but it is show. Yes it may discourage some from fgm but not stop it totally.

The 2 letters are weak, no mention of SMS maybe to protect him from being sued by women rights and future class action as it would implicate sayedna, did people notice that no women signed it , no mention whether sayedna had given permission to change shariat that Abdes take misaq with , no acknowledge of accepting it is cruel, no discussion how they will remind people who don't know it is illegal , like will there be a noticeboard. What about letters in Canada, USA or what about they are stopping fgm because it is illegal and not because it is wrong so they still don't see it is child abuse.In India will they stop it or wait until it is illegal.

I am pleased the authorities have shown more reformist capabilities to dig their teeth into it and force the change morecthan some of us or our supreme leaders.

Some people took the lead and brought it this far and let the people just joining the caravan of change look after it to the end of the journey.

Friend Ozdundee, i salute you for your untiring efforts, but can you please, for Gods sake, stop pasting the same post in multiple topics? This is the third time im reading the same post by you in multiple threads for the last 2 weeks now

in addition to journalist and women activists who are bringing global attention lest we forget the professional men and women who silently in the shadows put the hardwork involved during this long process

in our sign of gratitude these nonbohras have gone out of their way to save our children from abuse. they are not related to or have no coonection to us but strong professional ethics, they will not be invited to our jamans, they will not get ruku chiti, no Sheik title or shawl...but if ever they read this a heartful thank you for saving my daughter, daughter in law or grand daughters ...and generations to come.

the least we can do is tell our daughters these men and women who tney will never meet changed their lives forever protected them from their mothers and mullahs. stood up when very few if any of 1 million mumineen stood to stop fgm out of fear of social boycott or brainwash. they have done more than reformists or ac tivists or SKQ has done. This case brought reforms possible. we can gloat in the success.

I thank PDB to have provided this forum to share our thoughts and comment. I look forward to the end soon.

let us be sincere and honest when our history is written ....

who are these outsiders who came to receive or children

New South Wales,Australia State Crime Command

The State Crime Command (SCC) is made up of 12 squads headed by a Squad Commander, and a number of support units. Each squad specialises in particular types of crime. The support, co-ordination and management of all of the Squads is the responsibility of the Commander of the SCC, who is assisted by the following Directorates and Units within the Command:

Organised Crime DirectorateSerious Crime Directorate
Intelligence Directorate
Business Services Directorate
Professional Standards Unit
There are also services throughout the NSW Police Force that provide support and assistance to the SCC as part of their core business. They include; Forensic Services Group, Special Services Group, Corporate Human Resources, Field Training and the Professional Standards Command.

Organised Crime Directorate
Drug Squad
The Drug Squad provides advice and direction to the NSW Police Force response to illicit drug crime as well as leading and conducting investigations into upper level distribution and manufacture of illicit drugs.

Investigation and prosecution of persons involved in the manufacture, trafficking and/or possession of illicit firearms and military style weapons.
Investigation and prosecution of Organised Crime Groups who possess/use firearms in furtherance of their criminal activities.
Gangs Squad
The Gangs Squad leads and drives the NSW Police response to Gang related crime at all levels. This is done through the development of tactical and strategic intelligence products, policy advice and the provisions of specialist investigative services in response to serious and organised gang related crime, particularly those involving Outlaw Motor Cycle Gangs and other Organised Crime Networks.

Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad
The Squad conducts multi level investigations and develops intelligence products on Middle Eastern Organised Crime groups including those who have a propensity for violence.

Organised Crime Squad
To work with the NSW Crime Commission and other agencies to identify, target and investigate high level organised crime activity, identities and groups impacting on NSW;
To investigate organised crime activity within the precinct of 'The Star' Casino;
To investigate organised crime activity within the NSW racing industry;
To investigate money laundering activity, the proceeds of crime and seize criminal assets; and
To investigate transnational trafficking in illicit commodities and the provision of illicit services that impact NSW by criminal networks stemming from East Asia and other jurisdictions.
Serious Crime Directorate
Fraud and Cybercrime Squad
The Fraud Squad leads and drives the NSW Police Force response to Fraud, Computer Crime, Assets Confiscation and Identity Crime. This is achieved through the development of strategic policy, intelligence products, best practice and provision of specialist investigative services across this crime spectrum.

Homicide Squad
The Homicide Squad leads and drives the NSW Police Force response to homicide and Coronial investigations at all levels. This is achieved through the development of tactical intelligence products, policy advice and the provision of good practice and specialist investigative service.

Child Abuse Squad
The Child Abuse Squad is comprised of detectives who are specially trained to investigate crimes against children, including sexual assault, physical abuse and serious cases of neglect. The squad works in partnership with the Department of Family and Community Services and NSW Health, with specialised tri-agency teams based at metropolitan and regional locations throughout NSW.

Property Crime Squad
The Property Crime Squad leads and drives the NSW Police response to motor vehicle theft/re-birthing, arson (structural fires and bushfires) and property crime, including major breaking offences on commercial warehouses and distribution centres and the receivers of the property subject of those offences. This is done through the development and implementation of strategy, policy, intelligence products, best practice and provision of specialist investigative services across the three crime disciplines.

Sex Crimes Squad
The Sex Crimes Squad was established to ensure provision of a specialist sexual assault response to support Local Area Commands across NSW.

It is acknowledged that the roles and functions of this Squad are closely aligned with JIRS. As such, this will entail a close and ongoing working relationship between the two Squads.

Intelligence Directorate
The Director Intelligence, State Crime Command is the Corporate Spokesperson for Intelligence in the NSW Police Force and is responsible for the professional development and capability of intelligence with the NSW Police Force. The Director is also responsible for all intelligence functions within State Crime Command and is the central coordination point for the provision of high level advice on crime to the State Crime Command Commander, NSW Police executive and external agencies.

Prosecution Nanette Williamsher role requires her to present evidence provided by the police in state's highest courts.

The campaign by Dawoodi Bohra women against the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), sometimes called female circumcision, has brought no response from the community’s powerful clergy.

The silence of their religious establishment in India contrasts with reactions from associations representing the community’s diaspora. Groups representing Dawoodi Bohras in the United Kingdom and Australia have recently asked members to avoid the custom.

“In Mumbai, there has been a lot of discussion on the subject, but there has been no open expression of support for the campaign,” said Saifuddin Insaf, a member of the reformist Dawoodi Bohra community.

Why has the campaign received support from Dawoodi Bohra associations in the west while their leaders in India, where most of them live, have ignored it?

One reason, according to members of the community, is that many western countries have laws prohibiting the practice; India has no such ban. “While the practice (of FGM) can be tried, at the most, as a case of child abuse in India, other countries have clear cut laws because the custom is widespared among African migrants,” said Asghar Vasanwala, a California resident and an anti-FGM campaigner. Apart from two acts that prohibit the practice, the UK has a new law that makes it an offence to take children out of the country for the procedure. In Australia, the practice is a criminal act and there are reports that a Bohra was prosecuted in November by a New South Wales court.

On February 13, Dawoodi Bohras who met in Northolt, a town north of London, issued an appeal asking the local community to avoid the custom, as their religion and prophet requires them to obey the law of the land. On February 9, an association in Sydney passed a resolution that informed parents that they are violating Australian law if they subjected their children to the practice. In India, newspapers, television channels and social media have discussed the issue, but there has been no debate in the Dawoodi Bohra community. “The newspapers that the community reads in India will not discuss the issue fearing a backlash. It is only beacuse of Internet that people are talking about it,” said Vasanwla.

Ifran Engineer, director of the Institute for Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, Mumbai, and a Dawoodi Bohra, said that the lack of debate on the issue was because FGM has been a secretive practice. “There are clinics in localities where Bohras live, or a midwife or a trained person, who would do it secretly. Even male members of the family would not know about it. Elderly women would tell mothers of six and seven-year-old girls that it needs be done. Even I did not know about the practice till a few years ago,” said Engineer.

Bohra men are surprised that many of them are unaware that the practice is widespread. “It is a patriarchal practice to prevent what they think is sexual deviency among women,” said Engineer. “But often women become agents and carriers of the practice.”Engineer added that the custom is enforced by the clergy. “Even in cases of inter-community marriages, priests refuse to solemnise weddings if the couple does not produce a certificate which says that the bride has undergone the procedure.”

Can an Indian law help curb the practice? “The custom causes a lot of trauma; apart from the physical damage, there are psychological problems,” said Vasanwala, who recalled a conversation with Bhagvanji Rayani, who has filed PIL on issues like corruption in the education sector, unauthorised shrines and illegal hoardings. “But there was concern that going to the courts could delay the campaign.”

“There is a case for a PIL (against FGM) and I would like to do it, provided I get the community’s support,” said Raiyani.

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